Adjustable edge connection for concrete wall form panels



Feb. 25., 1969 v, M 3,429,547

ADJUSTABLE EDGE CONNECTION FOR CONCRETE WALL FORM PANELS Filed March 31. 1966 Sheet of. 2

INVENTOR VERNON R. SglMM EL By :W a ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 v. R. SCHIMMEL ADJUSTABLE EDGE CONNECTION ,FOR CONCRETE WALL FORM PANELS Filed March 31. 1966 FIG.3

FIG. 4

INVENTOR VERNON R. SCHIMMEL United States Patent 3,429,547 ADJUSTABLE EDGE CONNECTION CONCRETE WALL FORM PANELS Vernon R. Schimmel, Pasadena, Calif., assignor to Symons Mfg. Company, Des Plaines, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 539,121 US. Cl. 249-192 Int. Cl. E04g 11/08; E04c 1/30 FOR 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates generally to concrete wall forms and has particular reference to a novel adjustable connection for concrete wall form panels which are set up in vertically disposed edge-to-edge relationship, the connection making it possible to provide varying degrees of vertical offset between adjacent panels whereby wall form continuity may be preserved Where a step is encountered along the base or foundation support for the wall form as a whole.

In the erection of a panel-type concrete wall form wherein the opposed spaced apart sides of the form are each constructed of a group or series of rectangular panels in edge-to-edge relationship and the space existing between the sides of the form is adapted to have wet concrete poured into it for wall forming purposes, occasions frequently arise where the form traverses a raised obstruction such as a step or the like on the foundation surface so that it is necessary to construct one or both sides of the form around such step in sealing relationship with respect thereto. The step may be in the form of a raised concrete mass or slab, or it may be in the form of a wooden or metal encasement for a conduit section or the like. Irrespective of the nature of the step, the existence of the step requires the presence in one or both of the form sides of a void through which such step obstruction extends in tight fitting relationship. To accommodate such raised obstructions, various make-shift operations, frequently involving intricate carpentry work, have been resorted to and, where a particular installation is made up of permanent-type panels, as, for example, conventional or standard Steel-Ply panels, it has been necessary to construct special fill-in structures and lit them into the wall form in the vicinity of the step or other raised obstruction so that normal horizontal panel alignment is not interrupted.

The adjustable edge connection of the present invention is designed for use primarily in connection with concrete wall form panels of the type which is commonly known as a Steel-Ply panel and is currently being manufactured and sold or leased by Symons Mfg. Company of Des Plaines, Illinois. Steel-Ply panels, in various forms and sizes, are widely used in the building industry. They are assembled at the factory rather than in the field and, when shipped to the site of use, they are capable of immediate use without modification. Such panels are of special construction in that they are designed to be used with various concrete hardware articles which are also of special construction and permit the panels to be quickly and easily erected into a wall form installation and subsequently removed from the installation for re-use after they have served their purpose in connection with the formation of a concrete wall. A concrete wall form panel of the Steel- Ply type consists essentially of a shallow tray-like structure comprising a rectangular plywood facing and a metallic rectangular reinforcing frame which extends around the edge portions of the facing and consists of longitudinal and transverse frame members. In the formation of a concrete wall form installation, panels of the aforementioned type are adapted to be set up in edge-to-edge relationship with similar panels in order to provide two opposed form sides wherein the plywood facings of the panels in each side of the form installation oppose in spaced relationship the facings of the panels of the other side of the installation for pouring of the wet concrete in the space between the form sides as heretofore indicated. In order to secure adjacent panels in their. proper edge-to-edge relationship, the longitudinal and transverse frame members of the reinforcing frames are provided with transverse slots, such slots being set at approximately one-foot centers. The panels are constructed in standard sizes so that when corresponding slots in the longitudinal and transverse frame members of adjacent panels are brought into registry, fastening devices may be projected through the aligned slots and utilized to draw the edge portions of the adjacent panels hard against each other. In such an instance, all of the panels of each side of the concrete wall form installation are arranged in square checkerboard fashion with the panels being arranged in both horizontal and vertical rows. It is obvious then that where Steel-Ply panels are being utilized, an odd dimension step in the foundation of a given concrete wall form installation presents a problem in panel erection since, to rest a panel upon such a step would be to cause misalignment of adjacent panels in the vicinity of the step. To accommodate such a situation, it is necessary to construct a special fill-in structure having a vertical dimension which is calculated to bring the slots in the longitudinal frame members of a superimposed panel into register with the slots in the longitudinal frame members of an adjacent panel resting on the foundation. The problem is less acute when the height of such a step is precisely equal to one foot or a multiple thereof, in which case the slot registry will be attained when one panel rests on the foundation and the adjacent panel rests upon the step.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the use of conventional Steel-Ply panels in connection with the erectioin of a concrete wall form installation which is encumbered by the presence of a raised step on the foundation thereof and, accordingly, there is contemplated the provision of a novel adjustable edge connection in the nature or form of a panel connector comprising two connector parts which are longitudinally slidable upon each other, one connector part being designed for attachment to an associated panel and the other connector part being designed for attachment to an adjacent associated panel in the wall form installation. The two connector parts are similar or the same in design and each is generally of L-shape configuration in cross section and comprises an attachment flange which possesses the side edge characteristics of a Steel-Ply concrete wall form panel so that it may be operatively connected to such a panel by the utilization of conventional attachment hardware and, in addition, a facing flange which constitutes an extension of the plywood facing of the adjacent regular wall form panel to which the connector part is attached. One of the two connector parts of the present adjustable edge connection is designed for attachment to an individual adjacent Steel-Ply panel while the other connector part is similarly designed for attachment to the next adjacent panel in the concrete wall form installation as a whole. The respective facing flanges of the two connector parts of the adjustable edge connection are provided with a sliding interlock connection which holds the two parts against lateral separation but allows one of the parts to be slid longitudinally of the other part without destroying the continuity of the facing surfaces that are offered by the two facing flanges. Thus, in a concrete wall form installation, when an obstruction in the form of a step is encountered, one of the two connector parts of the adjustable edge connection, together with its attached Steel-Ply panel may be supported upon the base foundation while the other connector part of the connection and its attached Steel-Ply panel may be supported upon the upper surface of the step. Where the step is of right angle configuration, the resultant composite facing that is offered by the two panels and their connector parts will completely seal off the step. The longitudinal extent of the two connector parts is precisely equal to the longitudinal extent, i.e., the vertical height, of the standard Steel-Ply panels to which they are attached so that if a particular concrete wall form installation embodies several tiers of superimposed Steel- Ply panels in edge-to-edge relationship, when all of the Steel-Ply panels extending vertically upward from the step are equipped with connector parts, a resultant arrangement of vertically staggered panels will continue upwardly through the entire height of the wall form installation as a whole. Because the connector parts are equipped with counterpart attachment flanges which cooperate with the side edge portions of conventional Steel-Ply panels and have the same connecting facilities as such panels, the use of practically all concrete wall form hardware, such as wedge and bolt connecting means, waler supporting brackets, stand-off brackets, and the like, may be applied to the form installation at the junction between the connector parts and their associated panels if desired.

The provision of an adjustable edge connection such as has briefly been described above and possessing the stated advantages therefor constituting one of the principal objects of the present invention, other objects and advantages, not at this time enumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the nature of the invention is better understood.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown as being operativey installed in a concrete wall form installation.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a concrete wall form installation utilizing adjustable edge connections embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 3 but showing only the sliding interlock connection between the connector parts of one of the adjustable edge connections of the structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an inside view of one of the sides of the wall form installation of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 3, a limited section of a concrete wall form installation having a step in associated relation therewith is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, the step being designated by the reference numeral 12. The wall form installation includes two spaced apart form sides 11 and 13 and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that when wet concrete is poured between these two sides and the concrete becomes hard, a concrete wall results.

Each side of the wall form installation 10 is, in the main, made up of a series of Steel-Ply panels, two such panels 14 and 15 on each side of the form installation appearing in FIG. 1. Throughout the form installation, except in the vicinity of the step 12, the various panels are arranged in edge-to-edge relationship and, depending upon the height of the form installation, the panels may be arranged in vertically superimposed tiers, only the lower tier of panels being shown in the present instance. As shown in FIG. 3, the panels 14 rest on the step 12 and the panels 15 rest on a foundation 18 as a whole.

The foundation 18 as well as the step 12, although being illustrated as 'being formed of concrete, may be otherwise constructed, and the step 12 is shown as being of rectangular configuration, which is to say, it is provided with a horizontally disposed planar upper surface 20 and vertically disposed planar side surfaces 22. To accommodate the step 12, the panels 15 have their lower edge portions seated squarely upon the base foundation 18 while the panels 14 have their lower edge portions seated squarely upon the upper surface 20 of the step 12. The panels 14 and the panels 15, instead of being disposed in contiguous edge-to-edge relationship, as are the majority of Steel-Ply panels of the wall form installation 10, are spaced apart a slight distance and are maintained in their spaced relationship by the adjustable edge connections of the present invention, each of said connections being designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 30. The nature of these edge connections will be set forth in detail presently.

Considering now only one side of the form installation 10, the panels 14 and 15 are identical and they are of the prefabricated Steel-Ply type, a panel of such type being of open shallow tray-like design and comprising a rectangular plywood facing 40 and a rectangular metallic reinforcing frame comprising longitudinal frame members 42 and transverse frame members 43. The panels 14 and 15 are shown in FIG. 1 as being disposed with their longitudinal frame members 42 extending vertically and their transverse frame members 43 extending horizontally and, thus, further reference to the panels will be made on the basis of such positioning thereof in the wall form installation 10.

The frame members 42 and 43 of the reinforcing frames are in the form of structural steel bars which are of shallow channel shape cross section, each bar including inside and outside outwardly extending marginal ribs 46 and 48, and a connecting base or web :50. On the side of each web 50 opposite the ribs 46 and 48 is a laterally extending flange 52 on which the adjacent edge portion of the associated plywood facing 40 seats with its inside face of the facing flush with the inside edges of the frame members 42 and 43.

At vertically spaced regions along the marginal ribs 46 and 48, pairs of transversely registering notches 54 are formed. These notches, when the frame members are disposed in contiguity, define therebetween channel voids which are adapted to receive therethrough the adjacent end regions of horizontally extending tie rods 55, such tie rods extending transversely of the wall form installation as a whole.

A rectangular slot 56 is formed in the web portion of each frame member at the level of each pair of notches 54 and such slot is adapted to receive therethrough the shank portion of the bolt of a conventional T-bolt and wedge assembly 60 whereby the contiguous or abutting frame members of adjoining panels are drawn tightly together. The various groups of notches 54 and slots 56 in the vertical frame members 42 are formed on twelveinch centers and in such a manner as to insure notch alignment between contiguous frame members when the panels are arranged in either horizontal or vertical alignment.

Still considering only one side of the wall form installation 10, it is to be understood that when two edge-toedge panels (not shown) are supported upon the horizontal foundation 18 in edge-to-edge contiguity, the registering pairs of notches 54 and slots 56 will fall at the same horizontal levels. However, the placement of a panel, such, for example, as the panel 14 on the upper surface of the step 12 will cause the notches 46 and 48 and the slots 50 of the two adjacent panels 14 and 15 to be positioned out of horizontal register with each other so that, in the absence of the adjustable edge connection 30 of the present invention, it would be impossible to employ conventional concrete wall fonm hardware to draw the adjacent edges of the panels together. Accordingly, the edge connection for each side of the wall fonm installation serves as a fill-in structure between the two panels 14 and 15 which may be readily vertically adjusted relatively to one another in order to accommodate the height of the step 1250 that the panel 14 may be supported on the step while the panel 15 may be dropped to the extent necessary to cause it to be supported on the foundation 18, the adjustable edge connection not only filling in the distance between the two spaced apart panels 14 and 15 but also filling in the gap which exists at the adjacent side surface 22 of the step 12 as clearly shown in FIG. 3.

Each adjustable edge connection 30 is comprised of two separable connector parts including a male part 70 and a female part 72 (see FIG. 2.). Each connector part is in the form of an elongated angle piece having a combined facing and coupling flange 7-4 and an attachment flange 76. The two connector parts are substantially identical except for the actual coupling connections that are associated therewith so that needless repetition of description has been avoided herein by application of identical reference numerals to the involved corresponding parts with the exception of the coupling connections proper.

The attachment flange 76 of each connector part is a counterpart of one of the steel bars which comprises the longitudinal frame members 42 of a Steel-Ply panel and, accordingly, it is of shallow channel-shape cross section and includes outwardly extending inside and outside longitudinally extending marginal ribs 78 and 80, and a connecting web 82. The ribs 78 and 80 are provided with pairs of transversely registering notches 84 conforming in number and disposition to the number and disposition of the notches 54 in the ribs 46 and 48. The notches 84 and 54 define therebetween channel voids when the attachment flange 76 is juxtapositioned against one of the longitudinal frame members 42. The attachment flanges 76 of the connector parts are also formed with slots 86 corresponding in number and disposition to the slots 56 in the frame members 42 and similarly designed for reception therethrough of the shank portions of the bolts of the T-bolt and wedge assemblies 60 by means of which the attachment flanges 76 may be secured to the longitudinal frame members 42. Such registry of the slots 56 and 86, when the attachment flanges 76 of the two connector parts 70 and 72 are applied to the frame members 42 of the panels 14 and 15, respectively, is clearly shown in FIG. 4 but the connecting hardware, i.e., the bolt and wedge assemblies 60, have been omitted from this view in the interests of clarity.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the outer edge of one facing and coupling flange 74 is formed with a thickened portion 90 from which there projects forwardly a male interlock tongue 92 which is of gooseneck design and is designed for interlocking engagement with a thickened edge region 93 on the outer side edge of the other facing flange 74, the latter edge affording a female interlock groove 94 of a substantially complementary nature. The tongue and groove are of a suitable dovetail design with the cross sectional area of the tongue being somewhat smaller than that of the groove in order to facilitate assembly and separation of adjacent flange edges. The tongue 92 comprises an outer head-like part or T-head 95 and an inner neck-like part 96. The T-head 95 is semi-circular in cross section and the neck-like part 96 is approximately half as wide as the head-like part. The inner side portion of the neck-like part 96 is connected to the adjacent side edge portions by an L-shaped connecting part 98. The groove 94 embodies an enlarged inner part 100 which is of semi-circular configuration and receives loosely the outer headlike part or T-head 95. It also embodies a narrow outer entrance part 102 which snugly receives the inner neck-like part 96 of the tongue 92. The interlock connection is so designed that the groove 94 and the T-head assume positions which are outwardly offset with respect to the general plane of the facing flanges 74 of the connector parts 70 and 72, the term outwardly being related to the outer side of the form as distinguished from the inner side thereof where the concrete is poured. The two connector parts 70 and 72, with their associated attached panels 14 and 15, are adapted to be assembled by longitudinally sliding the panels and the connector parts relatively to each other. Separation of such parts is accomplished in the reverse order. Considering the sliding connection between the two connector parts 70 and 72 in greater detail, it is to be noted that the thickened edge region presents an elongated, full length, flat edge surface or shoulder 104 (see FIG. 2) which, when adjacent facing flanges 74 are interlocked, abuts against a narrow, full length, flat mating edge surface or reaction shoulder 106 in sealing relationship so that the inside faces of the two facing flanges will present therebetween a continuous uninterrupted smooth joint wherein there will be no appreciably visible seam lines in the finished concrete wall.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the length of the two connector parts 70 and 72 of each adjustable edge connection 30 is equal to the length of the longitudinal frame members 42 to which these connector parts are attached so that the two panels 14 and 15 which have been selected to accommodate the raised step 12 may have the connector parts 70 and 72 separately assembled thereon prior to erection of these panels, and so that the assembly, when made, will result in a composite rectangular panel structure with neither corner projections or deficiencies. Handling of the two panels 14 and 15 is thus simplified. Upon erection of the panels 14 and 15, it is necessary merely to align the interlock tongue 92 with the interlock groove 94 and then slide the two connector parts 70 and 72 longitudinally with respect to each other, while at the same time shifting the attached panels to the desired positions wherein the panel 15 rests upon the foundation 18 and the panel 14 rests upon the upper surface 20 of the step 12 as clearly shown in FIG. 1. The left hand outer edge of the free portion of the interlock connection on the facing flange 72 of the right-hand connected part as viewed in FIG. 1 will then lie flush with the adjacent side surface 22 of the step 12, while the lower edge of the facing flange 70 will lie flush with the upper surface 20 of the step. The lower edge of the panel 14 will rest upon the upper surface 20 of the step and thus effect a seal thereagainst. In this position of the two assembled and interconnected panels 14 and 15, assembly thereof to the remaining panels in the wall form installation may be made in the usual manner by the appropriate application of tie rods across the form installation 10 and by securing the adjacent panels together with bolt and wedge assemblies such as have been illustrated at 60.

It is to be noted that because the panels 14 remain offset upwardly from the remaining panels in the lower tier of panels on each side of the wall form installation, the panels which are superimposed above the panels 14 in successive upper tiers will likewise become offset upwardly from the associated panels in the same tiers of panels.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a concrete wall form installation, the combination with a flat horizontal foundation surface having a raised rectangular step projecting upwardly therefrom and presenting a horizontal top surface and a vertical side surface, of a wall form consisting of a pair of opposed, spaced apart, vertical wall form sides, at least one of which bridges said side surface, said one wall form side embodying a pair of panels having rectangular panel facings bounded by rectangular metal studdingtype frames including vertical and horizontal frame members which extend at right angles to the respective panel facings, a two-part separable edge connector extending between said panel and including first and second connector parts each of which is in the form of a metal anglepiece consisting of a facing flange and a connector flange extending at a right angle to the facing flange, there being a series of bolt holes in each connector flange and a similar series of bolt holes in each adjacent vertical frame member, bolt-type devices projecting through the holes of each connector flange and the holes of the adjacent vertical frame member and serving to secure the connector flanges to the adjacent vertical frame members so that the facing flanges constitute, in effect, continuations of the panel facings, and a sliding interlock connection between the free edges of said facing flanges of the connector parts whereby said facing flanges are maintained in coplanar relationship, the free edge of one of said facing flanges overhanging said horizontal top surface of the step and projecting downwardly alongside said vertical side surface of the step in edge-to-face contiguity.

2. In a concrete wall form installation, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein the longitudinal extent of each facing flange is equal to the longitudinal extent of the panel to which its associated connector part is attached.

3. In a concrete wall form installation, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said interlock connection comprises a forwardly extending laterally offset gooseneck portion formed on the outer edge of one of said facing flanges and having an enlarged head at the outer edge thereof, the outer edge region of the other facing flange being formed with a thickened region formed with a groove therein in which said enlarged head is slidingly received.

4. In a concrete wall form installation, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein the outer longitudinal edge of one of said facing flanges is formed with a thickened portion presenting a laterally offset gooseneck interlock tongue, wherein the outer longitudinal edge of the other facing flange is formed with a thickened portion presenting a correspondingly oflset interlock groove, the tongue of said one facing flange being slidingly interlocked with the groove of the other facing flange, the opposed meeting edges of said thickened portions being provided with abutting reaction shoulders which lie in the general plane of said facing flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 821,869 5/1906 Hathaway 249-192 X 1,516,760 11/ 1924 Callaghan 249-193 X 3,067,479 12/ 196-2 Schimmel 249-19=2 X 3,176,807 4/1965 Paulecka 52-588 X 3,291,437 12/1966 Bowden et a1 24948 WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

D. W. JONES, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52588 

